vintage jewelry

Remember my Instant Collection of Vintage Keys?

Well, in that same assortment of vintage goodies

were several very nice pieces

of vintage jewelry.

(Look closely to see the reverse carved pagodas!)

I fell in love with these earrings the moment I saw them

even though they had funny clamps for attaching them to earlobes

(like these only more tarnished).

I asked a friend who makes jewelry

to add the pretty orange beads and put modern ear wires on them.

This style of earrings was apparently quite popular in the 40's

when WWII veterans, returning from the orient,

would bring them home as gifts for their sweethearts

and family members.

(Perhaps they were a gift

from my Great-Grandpa, a medic in WWII,

for my Great-Grandma!)

I haven't been able to find out much about

this delicate blue set.

I had my friend add modern ear wires to these as well.

This sparkly little number made of iridescent beads

definitely evokes glamor.

This Jerusalem cross pendant is labeled on the back

that is it silver and that it was made in Mexico.

It is only about two inches across--

the intricate details are breathtaking!

Once again, I haven't been able to find out much about it.

I must admit to being quite delighted

with my "new" pretties.

"instant collection"

I'm not sure why,

but something about the description

"instant collection"

on an Etsy listing always makes me smile.

My very own Instant Collection

of cute vintage keys

recently just fell in my lap (so to speak).

While she was helping my grandma pack,

my mom salvaged an odd assortment of vintage goodies

for us to go through more carefully.

Among them was a small box

filled with this assortment of keys.

They were horribly rusty,

but after a little TLC

in the form of vinegar soaking and vigorous scrubbing,

they turned out pretty nice!

I am having an deliciously difficult time

deciding what to do with them.

Accent a clutch?

Make a necklace or two?

Display them in a shadow box?

Add them to a mixed media art project?

What would you do if you had

and Instant Collection

of vintage keys?

mostly vintage flannel baby quilt

The quilt top is pieced from an assortment of sweet yellow, turquoise blue, and pink vintage baby prints, a vintage turquoise blue solid, and a contemporary yellow solid.  It's all super-soft, snugly flannel.

The backing is a charming pink and green plaid flannel that I bought at my local quilt store. (I will cry if they ever go out of business.)

The quilting is a new free motion pattern that I came up with after spotting this pretty ring on Pinterest. (You never know when inspiration will strike.) It turned out well enough that I'm eager to try it again, but not so well that I'm bored.

The completed quilt is really and truly as unsquare as my picture makes it look.  Ooops.  The colors are charming and the design is nice, though.  Plus the mama-to-be who received it loved it.  All of that considered, I think it would be pretty silly to stress about the edges not being perfect, so I won't.

(Please forgive the funky formatting on this post; I'm having nightmarish troubles with Blogger and layout today. Ugh.)

concerning covered buttons

I don't think I've mentioned before how much I love covered buttons.  They can be customized to match anything, plus they are oh, so simple and fun to make.  You can get brand new ones in a variety of sizes, but I prefer picking up vintage ones at second hand stores.

The vintage covered button kits are nearly identical to the ones you can get new, except that the vintage packaging is cooler, and they usually cost much less.  You cut out a little circle of your selected fabric, place it wrong side down over the rubbery white piece included, press the metal top-of-the-button piece into it, tuck the fabric edges in, then top it all with the metal bottom-of-the-button piece which you press down into the top-of-the-button-piece.

Then you pop the finished button out the the white, rubbery piece, and ta-da!  You have a perfectly coordinating, smoothly covered button.  It's so simple, so sleek.  Yes, I a good fabric covered button. : )

happy mail-bracelet in a canister

After my last happily successful happy mail adventure, I couldn't wait to spread some more happiness through the mail!  This could get addicting...

The whole time I was working on this blue and white button bracelet, I kept thinking of my friend Katie. She loves buttons and artsy projects and has just the coloring to pull of wearing these shades of blue.

I wasted very little time in finding a small, clear canister, putting the button bracelet inside, attaching a pretty-lettered address label, sticking on a couple of stamps (why, yes, we're still using Christmas stamps; aren't you?), and dropping it in the mail for her.

Happy mailing is so much fun!

Linking up with the lovely Jennifer's Studio Sneak Peek today.

a baby, a cradle, and an antique gown

Before Little Man was born, Benjamin decided to make a cradle for him. He worked for hours, lovingly and meticulously refining the wooden details. It is a work of art. I have loved putting each of our children down to rest in such a lovely first bed. And with each child I have wanted to take some good photos of them in it.

However, disinclination to haul the heavy cradle out of our poorly lighted room, general fatigue, and the awkward foreshortening that's inevitable when photographing a tiny baby in a rather large, three-dimensional object, have prevented me. One recent morning, though, I woke up with the motivation to haul the cradle around as well as the inspiration to try capturing close-up details of the cradle instead of staying stuck in the rut of trying to photograph the entire thing at once.

In these photos Sweet Pea is wearing a beautiful baby dress hand sewn and embellished for my grandpa by his mother, Sweet Pea's great-great-grandmother. I can see things in these photos that I would like to improve, yet I am very pleased with how they turned out, both as a photography exercise of sorts as well as a portrait session of Sweet Pea in The Cradle.

newborn portraits

Between sleep deprivation, juggling the responsibilities of now having three children, spending time with my husband, trying to keep the dishes and laundry in acceptably small piles, making it to appointments in a timely way, and baby snuggling, I really haven't had much time to indulge in making beautiful things for the fun of it like I usually do. I have, however, been enjoying spending more time behind my camera, resulting in lots of lovely photos and, if possible, a third-born who is more photographed than the first-born was. ; )

The following are my favorite shots from my newborn photo session of Sweet Pea when she was just six days old.

It's hard to get a good photo of newborn with their eyes open because they have a hard time focusing. I have Brother and his loud noises directly behind me to thank for this lovely shot.

This one makes me smile.

The bedspread in these photos was hand-crocheted by my great-grandmother for my grandpa while she was expecting him. I am so honored that she wanted me to have this precious heirloom.

I really love tiny baby toes.

We used this one for her birth announcements.

More baby feet...Couldn't resist.

She's so tiny!

Linking up with Jennifer's Studio Sneak Peek.

nursery nook--complete

As you know if you've been reading my blog for a while, I've been steadily working on Sweet Pea's nursery nook (it's not quite a full-blown nursery since it's not quite its own room). I was finally able to put the finishing touches on it last week! The prints Tomorrow No. 4, Oak Reading Room, and Through Cherry Tunnels by Naokosstoop were the inspiration around which I planned all the decor, and I couldn't be more pleased with how everything came together harmoniously.

The cedar chest under the prints was a high school graduation gift from my grandparents years ago. A vintage monogrammed handkerchief protects the surface from scratches from a lamp from Benjamin's bachelor days dressed up with a brand new shade. The vintage sage green chair is a garage sale find from several years ago. On it are the decorative pillows I made just for the nook.

The green and blue bumper pad and sheet go perfectly in the hand-me-down crib which rests underneath my hand made mobile, and the coordinating quilt finishes the ensemble. Late afternoon when the sun streams through the windows and ruffled curtains, tinting everything faintly golden, is my favorite time to be in the Nook, though I'll frequently find myself there dreaming sweet baby-related dreams at other times of the day too.

[finally a good photo of the mobile!]

Hurry up, little Sweet Pea, your own nook is ready, and we're eager to meet you!

Linking up with Studio Sneak Peek today even though this wasn't a Friday post...

yard sale show and tell

This morning I had a lot of fun going to a few yard sales and our local farmers' market with Mum. I'm delighted with my finds and thought that I'd like to play show and tell tonight.

vintage olive green lamp (yes, it works!)-estate sale-$1

I fell in love with the graceful olive green base and its delicate white designs but was planning on changing the lamp shade. When I brought it home, though, Benjamin expressed that the part he liked most was the shade, while the base made him think of an old lady casserole dish (not exactly his words, but that was the jist). It makes me laugh how our perceptions and tastes are different. He has very sweetly agreed to have it in his house since I like it so much, and I have decided not to change the shade after all. I love being able to work together!

two vintage frosted glass candle holders-estate sale-5¢ each

blue mug crafted by a local artist-farmers' market-$5

green mug-estate sale-50¢

vintage smuckers canister-estate sale-50¢

(not pictured)

like new Old Navy dress for Sweet Pea-yard sale-$1

soft moccasin shoes for Sweet Pea-yard sale-$1.50

vintage brown pyrex mixing bowl (like this one)-yard sale-$1

set of two tiny shovels and a tiny rake for the boys-yard sale-50¢

head of fresh butter lettuce-farmers' market-$2

chocolate covered cherry cupcakes for the boys-farmers' market-$1.50

total spent-$14.60

I'd say it was a great day for yard sales even though I didn't really find many of the things I've been specifically searching for!

thrifted

Last Saturday I left the boys with Benjamin and headed out solo to do some yard saling. Sadly, it was a very slow week for yard sales; I only was able to find one. I bought a book, and that was all. I was a bit disappointed, but on a whim I dropped in at one of our little local thrift stores. Oh, was I glad that I did!

My first find was this vintage (I'm pretty sure it's vintage, at least) monogrammed handkerchief. It still has the little Van Heusen stickers on it, so I know it wasn't handmade. I'm still very pleased to have found it, though. I already have a plan of how I'll use it in Sweet Pea's nursery-nook (her first initial is, like mine, C)

And then I found a treasure trove of vintage notions: trims, bias tape, zippers, a fabric-covered-button-making kit, and even a few buttons. Pictured is less than half of what I got! I ended up with half of a grocery bag full for $3.50. I love the vintage labels, and I'll love using all of the lovely supplies they package even more!

Perhaps I'll have better yard sale success next weekend, but last week's finds are certainly nothing to sneeze at!

gifts

I think that just-for-fun, no-particular-occasion gifts may be my favorite. For example, last weekend Benjamin surprised me by bringing home a sunny, yellow bush of lovely mums for me. I loved them; they cheered me as I enjoyed their beauty. Plus they made me smile as I reminisced about the very first bouquet he ever gave me which included sunny yellow mums.

I have recently received several other no-particular-occasion gifts. I have been enjoying and am very thankful for each of them.

My Mum gave me a new green tea pot (complete with a loose-leaf tea strainer!) to replace my old, stained, lidless one (the lid broke quite a long time ago). Its clean lines and cheery color make me smile as does the tasty tea that steeps inside of it.

This teapot was a college creation of a friend. Apparently, it's actually something of a joke in response to her pottery teacher telling her that her work was too generic. : ) When she was reunited with it in my presence and was not sure what on earth she wanted to do with it, I offered to take it off of her hands. I love how quirky and unique the clever textures, colors, and patterns make it.

This antique printer's drawer is from my mother-in-law. A while ago I stumbled across an Etsy shop featuring printer's drawers turned into wall-mounted jewelry organizers. I absolutely loved the idea and embraced it as something that would be ideal for my growing (and disorganized) collection of earrings. The price tag, however, didn't fit my budget, so I posted a plea on Facebook for my friends to keep a look out for an inexpensive printer's drawer for me only to find out that my mother-in-law had one in storage that she was willing to give to me! It is in beautiful condition, and I can't wait to mount the little hooks in it and see my earrings in it!

I am so thankful, way beyond my thankfulness for these gifts, for the friendships behind them. After all, what makes gifts truly meaningful is the lovely reminder of the people who gave them.